


Little Crushes

by callmecaramleh



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Unrequited Crush, volleybros
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-03-18 02:06:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3552026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmecaramleh/pseuds/callmecaramleh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinata has got a little crush on the beloved ace, Asahi. When he can't seem to stop talking about it Kageyama starts to get annoyed</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. glad to have an ace

**Author's Note:**

> ah I hope this ends up kind of cute! I feel like Hinata would be the type to get crushes easily...

“Ih rea-y glad Ahahi oined the heam.” Hinata said, his mouth full of tooth paste. Kageyama was at the sink next to him, patting some sort of moisturizer onto his skin. On one of the earlier days of training camp Hinata had attempted to tease the king for his arduous skin care regiment, but he had been promptly scolded by Suga who was apparently equally obsessed with skin health.

“I can’t understand you.” Kageyama stated simply.  
  
“I said,” Hinata replied after spitting into the sink and wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his oversized baseball tee, “That I’m glad Asahi joined the team!”  
  
“Him and Nishinoya will be good additions.”  
  
“Yeah and since we’ll have and ace we’ll really be unstoppable!”  
  
“It is good to have team members with actual experience,” Kageyama pointed out, but Hinata was too far into his imagination to notice the blow.  
  
“He’s very tall, which is good! Not that being short is bad at all, but he’s tall and really strong looking. Tsukki is tall but he’s all flimsy. Asahi kind of looks like a bear… but a teddy bear, obviously. And he’s got better hair than Tsukki too. I wonder if my hair could go back like that… Kageyama do you have a hair elastic thing?”  
  
“No,” he replied, “I’m going to bed.” Kageyama headed out of the bathroom, making his way to the futon he had set up earlier, but Hinata just followed behind him, continuing to talk.  
  
“Ah… I could ask Suga for one. He might have something like that, right? Hmm… where did he and Daichi go?”  
  
“You could borrow one from Asahi,” Kageyama returned, clearly annoyed as he settled himself under his blanket. Kageyama had already had to listen to Hinata enough during practice and would much rather enjoy some alone time at this point. Hinata was unrelenting.  
  
“Haha, don’t be silly Kageyama. I can’t ask Asahi! That’d be embarrassing!”  
  
“As opposed to everything else you do.” Kageyama turned to face away from the other boy, hoping this would be enough to shut him up.  
  
“I’m not embarrassing!”  
  
“The first time you saw Asahi play you spaced out so much that he hit you square in the face. I think you’ve already embarrassed yourself in front of our ace.”  
There was a pause, and for a moment Kageyama thought Hinata had actually made the sensible choice of going to sleep. Before he could fully believe this, however, he was being assaulted with a pillow.  
  
“You’re so mean Kageyama!”  
  
“Stop being a dumbass and go to sleep!” the boy shouted back, grabbing Hinata’s pillow out of his hands and tossing it across the room. While Hinata was stomping over to retrieve his pillow, Kageyama took the opportunity to put in his earbuds. He liked to fall asleep listening to English podcasts, mostly because he could pretend that it was like studying in his sleep. He was doing pretty poorly in his English class after all, but he’d rather focus his time perfecting volleyball strategy than doing verb conjugations.  
He could hear Hinata grumbling over the sound of his podcast, but it didn’t take long for it to die out as he heard the rustle of fabric that signified Hinata resolving to go to sleep.  
  
Kageyama wasn’t quite sure why Hinata had decided to go to sleep so early. Most of their other teammates were still awake in the other room, chatting away. Tanaka and Nishinoya were being particularly boisterous, analyzing the different ways in which Kiyoko said “See you later.” When Kageyama had announced that he was going to sleep—he had a rather strict sleeping schedule—Asahi and Ennoshita had tried to quiet them down, but there was no point to it. The only person that could really silence the pair was Suga, and he had gone off to discuss strategy with Daichi. Why Hinata hadn’t chosen to stay up with everyone else was a mystery.  
  
It seemed to Kageyama that the more people there were on the team, the more Hinata seemed to stick to him. It didn’t make much sense to the boy. After all, Hinata was fairly outgoing, and he certainly had the energy to keep up with everyone else, and yet, he was still too often at Kageyama’s side. If it got any worse they’d end up like Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.  
  
In all actuality, Kageyama wasn’t sure he would really mind that. He wasn’t so interested in having someone dote on him like Yamaguchi did to Tsukki, but it might be nice to have someone to study with. Maybe if he had someone to force him to study he’d be able to pass English, not to mention it’d be nice to have a friend’s house to go to when he got tired of hearing his parents’ complaints. Kageyama turned his podcast up louder, hoping it would turn his thoughts away from Hinata tossing and turning beside him.  
Hinata always took a while to fall asleep, but it was even worse during training camp. He couldn’t get comfortable, and he wasn’t even really tired. The practice wore him out, but he’d much rather be up getting to know Asahi and Noya better. Still, he knew that if he went to sleep late like everyone else that he’d spend the whole night too afraid to move and get comfortable. He wouldn’t want to keep them up with all his tossing and turning, though it wouldn’t be so bad if Kageyama couldn’t sleep so much. Hinata didn’t have to worry about annoying Kageyama because he already knew that he did.  
  
Not to mention that he was sure Kageyama would get lonely sleeping in that room alone. It was too dark in there, so any sane person would be afraid to sleep there by themselves, or, at least, that’s what Hinata figured. Although, Kageyama might be mean enough to scare away anything that’d be lurking in the dark.  
  
“Night Kageyama,” Hinata mumbled.

***  
  
When Kageyama woke up he found that Hinata’s back was pressed firmly against his own. He supposed it could be worse—the orange haired boy could have chosen to wrap himself around Kageyama like some of their other teammates—but it was still pretty annoying. Kageyama wasn’t very fond of people touching him. He turned himself onto his back, rolling Hinata closer to Yamaguchi as he did so. While it took a while for Hinata to fall asleep, he seemed to have no problem staying that way.  
  
Kageyama had awoken before his alarm, as he often did. After vigorously rubbing his eyes, he managed to get himself up, grabbing his bag and heading to the bathroom as quietly as he could. He changed quickly, hoping no one would come in as he did. While he understood that modesty wasn’t really practical in the sports world, he still wished to keep himself from being exposed too much. He was insanely grateful to Suga who had told Tanaka that going shirtless all week was in no way acceptable.  
While he brushed his teeth, Asahi entered the bathroom, looking as if he was still asleep. His hair was down for once, falling just along his collar bone, and it seemed horribly messy.  
  
“Good morning Azumane,” Kageyama managed to get out. Asahi just sort of groaned, splashing himself with water a few times.  
  
“Never sleep between Tanaka and Noya,” he finally replied.  
  
“I could have figured that one out myself.”  
  
“Fair enough,” Asahi replied with a snort, fishing in his bag for his water bottle. Wrapped around it were several hair ties, one of which Asahi pulled off to hold his bun in place.  
  
“Uh…” Kageyama began, “Could I borrow one of those? I normally use a headband to hold back my hair when I wash my face but mine snapped… One of those would at least keep the front part back.”  
  
“Yeah sure,” Asahi replied with a smile.

***  
  
Hinata was sitting at the table, his legs pull up to his chest, as Tanaka and Ennoshita worked to prepare breakfast. He had offered to help, but Tanaka was insistent that there couldn’t be too many cooks in the kitchen, though this was mostly just a ploy to keep Suga from burning anything.  
  
“Make sure to tell Kiyoko what an excellent cook I am,” Tanaka exclaimed, a big grin plastered across his face.  
  
“Of course! It’s really cool that you know how to cook Tanaka senpai!” Hinata returned.  
  
“Yeah, I know. It’s pretty great. Kiyoko is going to be so happy once she’s my girlfriend because I’m going to make her a great lunch every day.”  
  
“Ahh! That’s so nice! I wish I could cook so that I could make the person I loved lunches! I’m sure Kiyoko will really appreciate it.”  
  
Kageyama came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and ready for the day, unlike most of the teammates who remained in their pajamas. His expression was as mean as ever, in Hinata’s opinion, and it seemed focused solely on the orange haired boy. Hinata moved his legs to rest on the floor as he approached, ready to make a break for it if Kageyama attacked him. (Well, he would have been ready if his legs hadn’t fallen asleep.)  
  
“Don’t lean against me when you sleep dumbass.” Kageyama said when he reached the table.  
  
“Ah, sorry Kageyama,” Hinata replied, afraid to make him angry so early in the day, “I normally sleep next to a wall....”  
  
“Could be worse,” Daichi added, “I’m pretty sure Noya slept on top of Asahi.”  
  
“He was half on top of me too!” Tanaka added.  
  
“I don’t care,” Kageyama replied, “Just don’t do it again.”  
  
As Kageyama walked toward the fridge, something slipped out of his fingers, falling onto the linoleum.  
  
“Kageyama you dro—”  
  
“I don’t want it,” he replied to Hinata. The spiker bent down, picking the object off the ground. A smile quickly lit up Hinata’s face.  
  
“Well I’ll keep it then!”  
  
“Whatever dumbass,” Kageyama mumbled as Hinata rolled the hair tie onto his wrist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave comments! please be tough but kind! I haven't written fanfiction and it's very strange to get used to.


	2. glad to have a phone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came quickly! I doubt I'll always be so quick to update. Thanks to everyone who left kudos, and special thanks to all the cuties that left comments for me! That's what made me really want to get this chapter up quickly!

Hinata sat up a little straighter, peering around the bus. Daichi and Suga sat at the front, eyes drooped shut, inching closer together in their sleep. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were behind them. Yamaguchi seemed to have stolen one of Tsukki’s ear bud and was curled up in a ball on his seat, trying his best not to fall onto his friend. Tanaka was squeezed beside Noya, his head resting on his shoulder while Noya leaned against Asahi. Asahi was pressed up against the window, neck strained as his head fell back against the seat. He looked big next to Noya—the sort of big that’s related to muscles and hugs that lift you off the ground. Hinata had to snap his hair tie against his wrist to stop himself from staring.

He glanced over at Kageyama whose music was playing too loud as his head bumped against the window in his sleep. He was a heavier sleeper than Shoyo, but he would never admit that. 

Once Hinata was certain that everyone was sleeping, he pulled the hair tie off his wrist. Holding the elastic in his teeth, he tried to wrestle his orange hair back into a bun like Asahi’s. He had been practicing in secret since he had acquired the thing, but so far hadn’t been able to achieve anything other than a little sprout. He told himself that he liked the style because it had the look of an ace, but it was more likely because it made Asahi look so… good. Better than the bun, however, was when you caught him without it and he looked like some sort of masculine Japanese Jesus. 

Hinata’s hair was not so long and cooperative. While pushing back the left side, the right would fall out of place, and when he finally would reach for the ponytail holder, the whole thing would collapse. Rather than getting his hair back, he just managed to elbow Kageyama in the face.

Kageyama turned to face him, cold glare burrowing under Hinata’s skin as the taller boy plucked out one of his earbuds.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Ah… I’m just trying to pull my hair back so I can sleep! Sorry that I elbowed you but really it’s your fault because you’re sort of close to me,” Hinata said, a nervous laugh bubbling out of his stomach.

“You sat next to me dumbass. Not to mention I was up against the window. I didn’t even know your arms were long enough to reach that far,” Kageyama replied, snorting slightly at his own joke.

“My arms are plenty long!”

“Don’t shout, you’ll wake up Suga, and Suga will wake up Daichi, and then they will murder you. Together.”

“I’m not loud,” Hinata said with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You’re loud and wiggly and obnoxious. Why can’t you just sleep like everyone else?”

“I’m not tired,” Hinata whined, “And I just want to be able to get my hair up. Then I’ll sleep.”

“You’re crazy. You were able to sleep fine on the way here.”

“I know but… my mind just keeps going I guess. I just want to get it right so I can stop worrying about how I’m never going to get it…”

Kageyama squinted at his teammate. How could Hinata be so consumed with such a trivial thing? It’s not like having a ponytail would actually help him volleyball or anything like that. The key to being an ace didn’t come through a hairstyle, but rather through practice and passion. 

When Hinata stared back at him with that little pout of his, Kageyama couldn’t help but be annoyed. He wasn’t going to help Hinata just because his eyes could get that big or because his cheeks sort of puffed out when he was frustrated it. Kageyama wasn’t so easily swayed.

However, maybe helping him just this one time would actually benefit Hinata. After all, Hinata had said that he would be able to sleep and that would mean no more elbows to the face.

“You’re hopeless,” Kageyama told the boy, taking his phone out of his pocket and quickly googling how to put short hair into a bun. One youtube tutorial and several pinterest diagrams later and Kageyama felt he had sufficient knowledge to try out the new technique. He shoved the Hinata’s face away from him and yanked back on the orange hair.

“Ow!”

“I’m helping you dumbass,” Kageyama answered. He took the top half of Hinata’s hair and twisted it into a little bun, tying it off with the hair tie with only minor difficulties. The bottom half of the hair was left down in what resembled some sort of (hardly) masculine bob. “There, all done.”

“Ahhh, does it look cool? Do I look like Asahi?”

“No,” Kageyama answered, but Hinata had already pulled out his phone so that he could take selfies with his new hairstyle. Clearly he would not be going to sleep anytime soon.

“You’re kind of right Kageyama… It does look better on Asahi,” Hinata admitted, glancing over at older boy. Noya was practically sitting on Asahi’s lap at that point and Hinata couldn’t help but feel a bit of jealousy. He wished that he had someone like Asahi that he was that close to—someone he could sit next to on the bus without fearing their wrath. Kageyama was fine and all, he didn’t take up too much room or anything like Tsukki and his big legs, but Hinata was always afraid he would do something to annoy him. Getting in fights at practice didn’t really matter, but he wouldn’t want to make someone mad when he had no way to escape the situation.

“I just don’t think it’s really a good style to begin with. It looks like dumplings,” Kageyama said, turning back to the window.

“What? Asahi always looks so cool though! Everyone thinks so. Especially when he plays volleyball. When he hits the ball and whamm! And then it zooms past the blockers! And my real favorite part is when the blockers look at their hands and wince because Asahi has so much power in his spikes that it hurts their hands! I wish Asahi got to spike more when there weren’t any blockers though. The view is so much better that way so I’m sure he’d like it if he could get more free shots in. And I can help him do that by being the decoy, right? The better decoy I am the more Asahi gets to spike without blockers.”

“Yes, that is how that’s meant to work,” Kageyama replied, “I’m going back to sleep.”

“Oh come on just stay up a bit more… I’m bored.”

“Wake up Asahi then,” Kageyama replied, maybe a bit too grouchily. He put in his other earbud and crossed his arms over his chest, setting his knees against the seat in front of him.

“You’re no fun,” Hinata mumbled. The rest of the bus ride was spent playing games on his phone and taking selfies with Kageyama sleeping in the background. 

***

Kageyama face planted onto his bed when he finally got home. He had missed sleeping alone so much. Hinata had started as annoying, but by the end of the week he had become completely unbearable. The more time the two spent together, the more Hinata had seemed to drop his guard. It was as if the shorter boy had wanted to talk rather than just fight, and his voice had almost always been ringing in his ear. Kageyama had never appreciated the silence more than he did now.

That’s why he was so entirely furious when his parents told him that they would be going out of town during the next weekend, and, worst of all, that he would not be allowed to stay home alone for such a long period of time. It was ridiculous that they didn’t trust him. He was a very sensible guy after all, and it wasn’t as if he liked enough people to throw wild parties or anything.

to Suga; 7:14 pm  
my parents are going out of town this weekend and want me to stay with a friend.

He felt stupid asking Suga, but he had no idea who else he could possibly ask. After all, he didn’t really speak to anyone outside of the team, and there was no one else on the team that he’d really be comfortable staying with. It was his best bet.

from Suga; 7:20 pm  
Hmmm. I have plans this weekend. Maybe try Hinata? He’s your friend, yes?

Kageyama groaned. He didn’t know which was worse: that Suga suggested he actually stay with Hinata or that he thought they were actually friend. 

to Suga; 7:23  
we’re not friends.

from Suga; 7:24  
But I saw those cute pictures of you two on the bus that he posted!

Kageyama was going to kill him.

from Suga; 7:24  
Really though, just ask him. It’s better than Tsukki’s, right? And there’s a very low chance that he’ll be shirtless around you like if you went to Tanaka’s or Noya’s.

to Suga; 7:26  
Daichi?

from Suga: 7:27  
I think he has plans to. 

to Suga; 7:35  
keep your phone on you this weekend in case I end up killing him.

from Suga; 7:36  
Lol. Good luck!

Kageyama sighed. This was possibly the worst thing that had ever happened to him. Well, besides setting the ball to no one and that day last week when he accidentally caught Ukai and Ittetsu making out before practice. Still, it would seem he had no other option.

to Dumbass 7:50  
i have nowhere to stay next weekend and i have to study for and English test so you couldn’t be bugging me but could i stay at your house?

Kageyama set the phone down on his dresser, too embarrassed to wait for a reply. Instead he chose to lay on his bed and toss his volleyball up in the air repeatedly. He would do anything to distract him from the thought of sleeping in the same room with that monster for a second time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I imagined Hinata's hair in the half-bun it was something like this: http://i3.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article3141360.ece/alternates/s615/Jake-Gyllenhaal.jpg  
> only messier and more sunshine-y of course. Also props to anyone that was like "Does Kageyama like Sailor Moon???" Dumpling hair is the best.  
> Please continue to leave fun comments for me to read! They really help inspire me to keep writing.


	3. glad to have a friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this will probably be closer to the pace at which I finish chapters. I hope you like this one!

Hinata was sitting in his bed, rereading his favorite part of Free! when he got the text. He was more than a bit surprised, mostly because Kageyama had never texted him before. Of course, he had the whole team’s number in case of emergencies or canceled practices or anything of the sort, so at least he knew it was Kageyama that had sent the message.

“Mom?” Hinata shouted, peeking his head out the door of his room.

“What?” she called back from the kitchen.

“Can I have a frien- Well he’s not really- Can one of my teammates come over this weekend? His parents are going to be out of town.”

“Sure sweetie.”

to Bakayama 8:01  
mom said its fine. you’ll have to sleep on the couch though. and don’t look so scary because I don’t want my sister thinking all my teammates are mean.

He didn’t know why Kageyama would even ask him. Surely there was someone else the setter found more bearable than Hinata. If he had been the one to look for somewhere to stay, Kageyama would be one of the last people he asked, mostly because he would feel he would have had to tiptoe around for an entire weekend. In his mind Hinata would have asked Asahi first, but that really wouldn’t have happened. Most likely Suga, because his house probably smelled like cookies, or maybe Yamaguchi because they both liked Free!

Hinata had been stuffing the anime into his backpack one day—he was borrowing it from Yachi—when Yamaguchi stared at him, all wide eyed and freckled. His grin was a bit too big for his face and that kind of concerned Hinata at first.

“Uh… Do you like Free! too?” Hinata asked tentatively.

“Yeah! I really love gay swimm—” The look of horror that fell upon Yamaguchi’s face was absolutely priceless. Hinata didn’t even attempt to contain his laughter, instead gripping his knees and letting out big bellowing cries. “I—I didn’t mean… I, well… It’s a good show.”

“Don’t worry,” Hinata said, wiping non-existent tears from him eye, “I’m totally with you on that one. Rei and Nagisa are the best.”

“O-oh!” Yamaguchi replied, brightening up a little, “I um… I like Rin and Nitori…”

Ever since that little encounter Hinata considered Yamaguchi to be a pretty good friend. He hadn’t come out to anyone else on the team, although he has a sneaking suspicion that Yachi had let it slip to Kiyoko. It’s not that Hinata was scared or embarrassed, he just never felt comfortable bringing up the subject. Since it had happened so organically with Yamaguchi it hadn’t been so bad, but such opportunities rarely happened so naturally.

“I heard Kageyama was staying at your house this weekend,” Yamaguchi said as they took a water break one day.

“Yeah, his parents are going out of town so he asked to stay,” Hinata replied as he retied his shoe.

“He’s kind of cute. Something could happen there, yeah? I mean, you two kind of stick together sometimes.”

“Are you kidding me? He looks like a squashed blueberry and his personality is even worse.”

“Ah come on, he’s not all that bad?”

“You just have a thing for mean boys is all. That’s why you like Tsukki so much. I, on the other hand, like boys who aren’t constantly shouting.” 

“But you’re always shouting Hinata,” Yamaguchi replied pointedly.

“That’s different!” Hinata exclaimed.

“So you’d go for someone like Nishinoya or Tanaka then?”

“Ah… I don’t know. Tanaka is more of a friend type I think. Nishinoya would be a little more likely, just because it might be nice to have a boyfriend I’m taller than, but I think that, um, well Asahi is more my type. He’s cool and talented, but also nice and adorable and really really hot.”

Yamaguchi laughed at that, but he couldn’t exactly disagree. There were plenty of attractive men on their volleyball team, but he wasn’t sure he’d call anyone except Asahi “hot”. 

“Hinata! Get over here and work on your receives!” Kageyama suddenly shouted from the court. Hinata groaned before going out to join him.

***

Kageyama shifted from one foot to another, clutching his bag. Hinata always took so long to change after practice, often stopping half way through taking his shirt off to talk to Yamaguchi or Noya, and completely forget what he was doing. Kageyama had been waiting for him outside of the club room for 11 minutes now. He really hated being in there—it was always sweaty and stuffy and someone was always at least half-naked. When Hinata finally came out, his eyes were in their abnormally large, abnormally annoying state, staring up at Asahi who was saying something about growing his hair out.

“Ah that’s so cool Asahi! Your hair grows so quickly!” Hinata said, staring up at the third yeah.

“Heh, thanks,” Asahi replied, giving a small smile while scratching at his neck.

Kageyama gave a little huff, hoping Hinata would realize that he wanted to just hurry up and leave. He had homework he needed to start on and he’d really like to leave before it was totally dark out.

The boy didn’t seem to notice though, instead continuing to shout adorations at to their ace until Noya finally interrupted.

“Are you ready to go Kageyama?” Hinata asked, grinning stupidly.

“You’re kidding, right?” he replied, dumbstruck by Hinata’s obliviousness. Hinata’s grin instantly fell into something less and happy and more uncomfortable.

“Ah, I guess you are then… Let’s go.”

They biked back to Hinata’s house in relative silence, though once they got a bit closer Hinata began his grand speech about how Kageyama would have to be polite and not yell at his sister or anything. The setter was somewhat offended by Hinata’s assumptions of him, but figured it’d be best to just keep his mouth shut at this point. After all, shouting at Hinata that he was a dumbass would not be a very good way to prove his point. 

“I’m home!” Hinata shouted, slipping off his shoes and throwing his stuff onto the table.

“Welcome!” said Hinata’s mother, stepping out of the kitchen. She had the same big smile that Hinata wore, and even more surprising was that she had the same orange hair. 

“It is lovely to meet you. Thank you for your hospitality,” Kageyama replied, bowing. 

“Oh it’s our pleasure. I’m glad Hinata has made such good friends! I was so worried he’d have a hard time when he didn’t end up going to the same school as his friends from middle school.”

Kageyama opened his mouth to correct her, but figured that it wasn’t really a good idea to tell someone’s mom that he did not, in fact, like Hinata at all. Instead, he forced a smile that Hinata promptly burst into laughter about.

“You looked so dumb!” Hinata exclaimed as he plopped into his bed after dinner.

“Why can’t you shut up about that?”

“It was too funny!”

“I didn’t look as dumb as you when you were fangirling over Asahi,” Kageyama replied. He was sitting on the floor, his back sitting against Hinata’s dresser. He had his English book sitting in his lap, pretending to be studying.

“You… I didn’t look dumb!” Hinata said, clearly flustered.

“Your eyes were the size of your face. You looked more like a dog than anything else.”

“Ah, that’s not so bad, puppies are cute, right?”

“Why do you care so much what Asahi thinks anyway?”

“Ah… He’s cool,” Hinata began, his voice getting noticeably smaller, “Plus I think I might like him. As more than just a teammate and friend and stuff.”

Was Hinata an idiot? If there had been any small doubt in Kageyama’s head that Hinata was an absolute dumbass, it was gone now. Asahi was a third year, meaning his departure from their team was inevitable. Heart break was certain in such a situation. Not to mention, Tanaka and Noya would be so annoying to anyone that tried to date their third musketeer. Did Hinata really not realize that Asahi was completely out of his league? Kageyama didn’t even know if Asahi liked men--

“Oh,” Kageyama finally replied. He didn’t know if he should be surprised or not. Should he act surprised? Should he even react at all? He felt like he should have some sort of feelings on the matter, but it didn’t seem too important. He wasn’t Hinata’s friend after all. Why should he care whether the boy preferred Asahi over Kiyoko?

“Yeaaaah,” Hinata laughed, the way Kageyama knew he did when he was nervous, “It’s not really a secret, I just don’t tell people. Oh! That I like Asahi is a secret and if you tell anyone I will spike a ball so hard into your face that Tanaka won’t even be able to give a speech at your funeral because he’ll still be laughing. Just… the fact that I don’t just like girls isn’t a secret really, I just don’t like talking about it. Once I start talking I can’t stop because I don’t want people seeing me any different because of it so it’s just embarrassing. Because I talk about it, not because I’m embarrassed about anything else—”

“So you’re bisexual?” Kageyama asked, emotionless.

“Mmhm.”

“All right. I didn’t want to accidentally misrepresent you. Not that I ever talk about you or would ever feel the need to bring up your sexuality.”

“Thanks,” Hinata said, smiling brightly until a pencil hit against his face.

“Now let me study.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really indecisive about how I wanted Kageyama to react to Hinata coming out, so hopefully it doesn't read poorly or out of character! Also I hope the fact that I put Free! in there wasn't too cheesey, I just thought it'd be kind of funny. Plus I want Yamaguchi to be the secret star of everything I write because he is the best.


	4. glad to have some time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh I'm so sorry I took so long to update. My laptop is currently broken, so I'm not sure how quickly I'll be at posting more. I hope you like this little chapter though... It's very brief.

Kageyama lay curled into the couch, one leg sticking up off the end. He needed to fall asleep, but it seemed to be too difficult of a task at that moment. It wasn't the idea that Hinata was bisexual that kept him awake, but rather the idea that he had told him. Tobio couldn't remember the last time anyone had told him anything even close to a secret. Who else knew? Hinata's mom seemed to know, judging by the way she insisted that Kageyama take the couch rather than sleeping in Shouyo's room. Other than that, Kageyama had no idea. He could quite possibly be the only person on the team to know, or the only person in the school. That could only mean one thing.

They were friends. Or, at least, Hinata seemed to like him enough to see him as a friend. Whether Kageyama wanted to reciprocate this was still up for debate. After all, having a friend was a rather large commitment. If they were friends they'd have to eat lunch together, spend time at each others' houses, and Kageyama would probably have to stop calling Hinata a dumbass all the time. This would certainly interrupt his studying, and Hinata would probably be the type of person that steals his friends' food, but perhaps it could be worth it. After all, it might be nice to talk to people about things that weren't school and volleyball. Not to mention the fact that Tobio's mom would be pretty pleased if he found himself someone to hang out with other than his pet hermit crab.

So it was decided; Kageyama would have to be friends with Hinata.

***

Shouyo tossed in his bed, somewhat defeated. How did he end up telling Kageyama of all people? Suga, yes, Daichi, sure, Asahi, eventually, but Bakayama? He had regretted it the moment it slipped from his mouth, but it just kept going, an endless wave of yammering confessions as Kageyama looked on with his usual grimace. Hinata didn't know what he had been expecting. Shock? Anger? Something with the word "dumbass" attached probably. Instead, Kageyama had seemed unphased. That was good. He didn't need Kageyama bullying or anything other than his volleyball skills.

It was strange, the way Hinata seemed to trust Tobio. He trusted him to set the ball right into his hand and he trusted him not to tell Asahi that he liked him. Shouyo didn't know which of those required more confidence, but they both seemed to be fairly big things. Not to mention there had been that time that Kageyama gotten him that hair tie. Kageyama didn't seem to go out of his way for a lot of people, so maybe it was those little thing that he did for Shouyo that made the spiker able to put his faith in him.

***

"Kageyama! Put my hair in a bun again!" Hinata demanded, pulling his friend up into a sitting position. Kageyama had been fake sleeping for all of six minutes, hoping Shouyo would just go back to his room, but now, Hinata just had to be horribly annoying.

"Fine," Tobio replied, ruffling his own hair into place, "Sit down on the floor."

Hinata grimaced as Kageyama wrestled with his hair, pulling and tugging as strands of Hinata's hair would get loose. Sometimes Hinata would even mutter a little "Ow." which only seemed to make Kageyama pull harder at his orange locks. 

"Hey Hinata..." Kageyama said, finally snapping the ponytail holder around Shouyo's stub of a bun, "Who else knows?

"What, that I'm bi? Uh...well my parents, obviously, and my friends from middle school. Plus Yachi--she's been my friend forever but she also spends a lot of time with Kiyoko, so I'm guessing she knows too. Oh! And Yamaguchi knows."

"...You told Yamaguchi?" For some reason Kageyama felt a bit betrayed. They hadn't even been friends that long, and yet Tobio was already jealous. Yamaguchi was friends with Tsukishima, and Tsukishima was the most annoying person Kageyama knew, so why on earth would Hinata choose to tell him of all people? Yamaguchi wasn't even good at volleyball; there was nothing about him that seemed worthy of knowing Hinata's secrets. For Yamaguchi to be told before Kageyama only made the situation worse.

"Yeah, well, it just sort of came out one day."

"Is that why you two are always talking now? That is, when you're not staring at Asahi."

"I don't stare at him! Not a lot at least... And, um, even when I do it's for research since I want to be the ace. Plus Nishinoya stares at him too, so it's ok. Not to mention he's totally worth staring at. Like, he has great hair, and arms, and he's tall and his legs are like fwahhh."

"I'll take your word for it."

***

"So how was your weekend with Kageyama?" Yamaguchi asked, tossing volleyballs back into the cart after practiced ended.

"Fine I guess. I ended up coming out to him... because hey, if I can trust him to toss to me, I can trust him to know that, right?"

"Is that how that works?" Yamaguchi asked, smiling slightly, "I've known Tsukishima for ever and I could trust him with just about anything, but I haven't told him anything yet."

"Ah, but Tsukishima is a total ass."

"So is Kageyama," Yamaguchi countered.

"...You're not wrong. But Tsukishima is way worse! He's taller which means he's more of an ass."

"Asahi is tall!" 

"Ok but that's different because Asahi is also beautiful and kind which is very different from Tsukishima who is neither beautiful nor kind."

"That's not true. Tsukishima has beautiful eyes and he's nice to me. Most the time."

"See! Even you admit that he's a total asshole."

"Maybe, but he's an asshole that walks me home after practice and eats lunch with me and has recently admitted to liking my presence. You try saying the same about Asahi."

Yamaguchi had a point. Asahi might be an absolute dream, but he was still so distant. If Hinata wanted Asahi to have anything to do with him outside of volleyball, he would have to start building that relationship now, before Asahi graduated.


	5. glad to have yamaguchi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Yamaguchi so much so I decided, why not name the chapter after him? He is a sweet sweet angel. Also I decided to write this chapter really quickly since you had to wait so long for the last one.

Kageyama walked a bit behind the rest of the team, hands buried in his pockets and tennis shoes scuffing against the pavement. Normally when they went to Ukai's shop after practice he would be arguing with Hinata, and now that they were friends they should be talking like Daichi and Sugawara, or Tanaka and Noya. Instead, Hinata was walking with Asahi, neck tilted upward at a painful looking angle. This "friends" thing must have been new to Hinata.

They hadn't even been friends a week and the dumbass was already ditching him to hang out with other people. Kageyama probably should have expected it since Hinata's etiquette was always this poor. Hinata was pretty selfish. Everything was always about how hard he had been practicing, how much he wanted to be the ace, or how Asahi was "the love of his life". He never cared about anyone but himself. Kageyama, on the other hand, was always thinking of others. During practice he had even remembered to say "Nice serve," after Ennoshita finally got the ball over the net. (Although, Ennoshita probably didn't even hear the whispered compliment.)

How did Hinata not realize how stupid he looked? He was dwarfed by Asahi and looked even more like a child than usual. Even Nishinoya didn't look so silly next to Asahi. It must have been the eyes. When Hinata looked up at Asahi his eyes were always wide, full of amazement and stars. Asahi was a powerful player and a good asset for their group to have, but Hinata was the only one who seemed to elevate him above the role of teammate. Hinata's admiration of the ace almost rivaled the way Yamaguchi doted after Tsukishima, and they had been friends for years. 

It frustrated Kageyama to no end. Hinata shouldn't be worrying about Asahi all the time. He should have enough to worry about with volleyball practice and his failing grades. Little crushes weren't worth anyone's time. 

***

"Asahi-san, you played really well in practice today! You already seem so much stronger than you were in that first match against Nekoma," Hinata said, grinning up at Asahi. With Yamaguchi distracting Tanaka and Nishinoya, Asahi was free to talk to Hinata. The walk to Ukai's shop wasn't long, but it would have to do. Hinata had never spoken to Asahi one on one for more than five minutes, and that was just no good. If he was going to woo his ace, he was going to have to talk to him.

"Ah, thanks," Asahi replied, rubbing his neck, "The whole team has been putting in a lot of effort. I think we're going to be a strong contender this year. I've been really thankful to have you and Kageyama on the team. It's nice to not always have that wall in front of me."

Hinata's smile grew even wider, almost too big for his face. Asahi might not walk him home or eat lunch with him, but he had just admitted to enjoying his presence! That was definitely progress.

"At first I didn't think being a decoy was very cool, but since I know that it will help you I think it must be worth it." 

"Our whole team is pretty supportive of each other, in their own way. Even Yuu and Kageyama who mostly just shout are just trying to help everyone out."

Hinata glanced over to where Nishinoya now sat on Tanaka's back, Yamaguchi snickering beside them. Still, every few seconds Yamaguchi would cast a look over his shoulder Tsukishima, an apologetic look on his face. Hinata felt a bit guilty taking away some of Yamaguchi's time with his beloved Tsukki, and made a mental note to pay him back for it later.

"Oh I don't know about that. Kageyama is kind of a selfish asshole."

"That's not true... Wasn't he helping you with your receives today?"

"Well yeah, but that's just because he wants to win so bad. Kageyama is the most competitive person ever. He's soooo annoying."

"Oh I don't know," replied Asahi, a small smile creeping onto his face, "I think I know someone just as competitive."

***

Hinata had been eating lunch with Yamaguchi and Tsukishima since he had come out to him, but after making Yamaguchi help him out the night before Hinata though it would be best to give them some space. Instead he sat on the step outside the gym, stabbing his chicken with the end of his chopsticks.

"Why the hell are you out here!?" 

Hinata's eyes flew upward, looking around for Kageyama--the clear source of the shouting. His voice was unmistakable. 

"I'm eating lunch?" Hinata replied as Kageyama finally reached him. Tobio remained standing, towering over him.

"But why are you eating lunch out here?" Kageyama's question came out as a sort of growl.

"It's nice out."

"But you always eat with Yamaguchi!" Tobio replied, finally plopping down about a foot from Hinata. 

"Right, well I was letting them have some time to themselves. They've been best friends for a long time, but now they have to be around the team so much that I thought they might like a little space for once."

Kageyama groaned, mumbling about how much of a dumbass Hinata was and how Hinata didn't know how to communicate and what a horrible person he was.

"Why does it matter so much anyway?" Hinata finally asked, annoyed by his teammate's grumblings.

"Because I was going to eat lunch with all of you today, dumbass."

"Oh," Hinata replied, a bit surprised. Kageyama had never eaten with them before. Sometimes they would practice during a lunch, but that was only on rare occasions when Hinata felt particularly self conscious of his abilities. "Why were you going to do that?"

"Because friends eat lunch together dumbass," Kageyama replied, shoveling rice into his mouth.

"We're friends?" Hinata asked, his eyebrows scrunching together.

"Well we're eating lunch together, so yeah. Geeze, how dense are you? It's like nothing makes it through all that dumb orange hair of yours."

"It's not dumb! My hair is cool. Asahi even said so last night."

"He probably just felt bad because everyone knows it's so stupid and he didn't want you feeling bad about it."

"My hair's not stupid Bakayama! Asahi wouldn't lie to me. He is an honest man, more gentle and kind than a newborn deer, with all the beauty and grace of a swan. Also, swans mate for life. That sounds like the kind of person Asahi is, don't you think? Once we start dating, we'll have to be together forever. If we get married--that'll be up to him since I don't mind either way--anyway, he'll wear a white tux I think. His skin tone will look so good with white--"

At that point Hinata was struck in the forehead by one of Kageyama's carrots.

"Oh my gosh please shut up."

"You're no fun Bakayama. This is why Yamaguchi is a better friend than you."

"I can be a better friend than Yamaguchi! All he does is say nice things that he doesn't even mean! That doesn't help anyone. Yamaguchi is a horrible friend compared to me!"

"Well if you're such a good friend," Hinata said, grinning, "Will you do my hair up once you're done eating? It always gets in my face and distracts me during math."

Kageyama grumbled a bit, but agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of ended up liking this chapter? It has more actual action in it than the last one, so I think it's much better. Please leave comments I love comments. (Tell me to write in more Yamaguchi because I love excuses to write Yamaguchi.)


	6. glad to have hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter late at night and it's a little weirddddd. I think it's pretty funny but who knows really...

"Did Kageyama find you at lunch today?" Yamaguchi asked, legs spread apart for pre-practice stretches.

"Yeah. Did he ask you guys where I was or something?" Hinata said, bending over to touch his toes.

"Ah... Well, not exactly," Yamaguchi replied, "He came in at a pretty awkward time acutally. I was, um, well Tsukki has been complaining that his neck hurt so I was giving him a massage--"

"Oh my gosh."

"It wasn't like that!" he said, throwing his hands up defensively, "It was completely platonic, I swear! It's not like he was moaning or anything weird--"

"Oh my gosh you were totally thinking about Tsukishima moaning."

"I--That's not true! I just wanted Tsukishima to feel better. You're reading too much into this."

"Yeah, yeah. Back to your story," Hinata answered with a wave of his hand.

"Right. So I was giving Tsukki a massage--" Hinata didn't contain his snicker "--and then Kageyama walked in, and he just stares at us for a good two minutes. I'm basically frozen in place, and Tsukki is unphased, just sort of glaring back at Kageyama until he just mumbled 'Hinata isn't here' and left."

"I'm so mad I wasn't there," Hinata said, trying to stifle his laugh. 

"Everyone run a lap!" bellowed Daichi, signaling the actual beginning of practice. 

***

Kageyama couldn't even look at Tsukishima or Yamaguchi during practice; it was too uncomfortable. Were they actually that close? Were they dating? The way Tsukishima's eyes were closed had made it look entirely sensual, whether Yamaguchi had realized it or not. Or perhaps that was just what friends did for each other. Kageyama would hardly know the difference either way. Perhaps he would ask Hinata for a massage now that they were friends. His neck was almost always sore from trying to look over his shoulders while tossing. A massage actually sounded pretty nice, and the idea of the hands that hit his spikes being used to caress his shoulders--

He shook his head, snapping himself back into reality. Kageyama knew he shouldn't think that way; that was how Hinata talked about Asahi and not how friends were meant to think about each other.

After finishing up the blocking practice that they were working on, Suga called for a water break. Daichi always forgot about stuff like that, which was what made him and Suga such a good pair. Kageyama wondered if they gave each other massages. 

He squatted beside Hinata, chugging his water for a moment. Kageyama was always rather concerned about staying hydrated, as it was good for the skin. 

"Hey Hina--"

"Asahi!" Shouyo was suddenly shouting, "Are you ok? You keep rubbing at your neck."

"Oh, um... Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to stretch a bit more before practice next time," Asahi replied, smiling.

"It looks like it really hurts. You should let someone give you a massage!" Hinata's eyes were bright, almost hopeful. Kageyama groaned quietly. Hinata was too bold, and Asahi was now turning an embarrassing shade of pink that Kageyama was sure Hinata would praise later.

"Ah, well that's a nice thought, but I'm ok--"

"Hinata's right!" Nishinoya suddenly exclaimed, "I'll give you a massage after practice and then you'll feel so much better."

"And I'll give Noya a massage! We can do a massage train oh my gosh it will be so good!" Tanaka added.

Hinata looked utterly defeated as the focus was stolen from him by the rambunctious duo. His eyes no longer sparkled and his mouth was clenched a bit tighter. It was a similar expression to when he missed a serve or when the store ran out of meat buns. Kageyama didn't know what to do. This wasn't the type of situation where he could just yell that they were invincible to get him to cheer up. 

"Hey, uh... if you really want to give someone a massage that badly, you could always... uh... well my neck hurts most the time." Kageyama knew it was a pretty lame attempt, but he just wanted Hinata to know, however annoying and strange he was, that he had value. Tobio had a natural self confidence, one that he knew sat closer to arrogance than anything else, but Hinata clearly didn't feel the same. The smallest loss could make him self conscious for weeks, and Tobio hated the idea that someone (other than Tobio himself) could make him feel that way.

Hinata just laughed. "Bakayama, that'd be soooo weird."

"But it's not weird when Yamaguchi does it to Tsukishima?"

"Of course not! Yamaguchi is g--" Yamaguchi was suddenly glaring at the spiker "--good friends with Tsukishima! They've been friends forever. We're new friends, so it's not the same."

"Whatever. You're probably bad at it anyway," Kageyama replied, grinning.

"That's not true! I've got magic hands Bakayama. Magic. Hands."

"Your hands are tiny. I doubt they could even fit around Asahi shoulders."

"Well you've got spider fingers! They're creepy and bony and gross to look at!"

"They're setter's fingers!"

"Oikawa's fingers weren't that weird," Hinata replied, the light back in his eyes as he insulted his friend.

"Well that's because I'm a better setter than him dumb ass!" Kageyama was angry, but he smiled anyway, happy to see Hinata back in his usual spirits.

***

He had been able to ignore it while Kageyama was there to distract him, but now that he was home, lying stomach down on his bed, he couldn't get rid of the idea of Nishinoya's hands on Asahi. It would have been easier if he could have felt angry or even jealous, but instead he just felt inadequate. At first he had been happy to have someone on the team that was shorter than him, but now it felt like another failure. Hinata couldn't be the shortest, he couldn't be the most talented, the smartest, and he couldn't have Asahi. 

Hinata sighed, rolling over onto his back, grabbing his phone to distract him.

to Yamaguchi; 7:28  
Yammma! let's talk, ok? Im sooo bored.

from Yamaguchi; 7:33  
I'm at Tsukki's... Sorry Hinata.

to Yamaguchi; 7:34  
ok Yama! have fun!

Hinata sighed, setting the phone down next to him. Yamaguchi was right. Tsukishima was a total asshole, but at least Yamaguchi had an actual chance with him. Hinata would never be good enough for Asahi...

from Bakayama 7:48  
Let's eat lunch together tomorrow.

Hinata's eyebrows scrunched together as he read the text, surprised that Kageyama would not only text him, but text him something so stupid. It distracted him though, so he wasn't very upset.

to Bakayama 7:50  
Bakayama! Tomorrow is saturday. You're super dumb.

from Bakayama 7:57  
I know dumb ass. we can go get food. 

to Bakayama 8:01  
R U ASKING ME ON A DATE!? (」゜ロ゜)」

from Bakayama 8:02  
NO I AM DEFINITELY NOT I WOULD NEVER DATE A MEMBER OF THE ASAHI FAN CLUB YOU ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO SOCIETY AND YOU HAVE UGLY FINGERS AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN ATTRACTIVE AND I DON'T EVEN LIKE BOYS

to Bakayama 8:05  
I know bakayama, it's called a joke. Meet at my house at noon. Idiot. 

Hinata grinned as he typed his message. Teasing Tobio would always cheer him up, especially when Kageyama would yell. The redness would fill up Kageyama's face, starting at the chin and working it's way toward the hair line as creases settled in above Tobio's brows. Just thinking about how dumb Kageyama looked was enough to brighten Hinata's attitude.

from Bakayama 8:11  
dumbass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit odd, but I'm excited to write the next one! I can't believe these two idiots don't realize how in love they are...  
> (I don't think there will be any Yamaguchi in the next chapter, but don't worry because I'm really excited for how his relationship with Tsukki will progress. It's going to be great.)  
> Please leave lots of comments! I always enjoy reading what you guys think!


	7. glad to have ramen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's been kind of long since I updated! I started a new fic if you haven't seen it, and if you have then my other excuse is that college was happening. anyway, here you go, another cute chapter. (hopefully)

Hinata slurped ramen noodles louder than anyone Kageyama knew. Broth was flying everywhere, mostly in Kageyama's face, as Hinata piled noodles into his mouth. Kageyama had barely picked up his chopsticks when Hinata had already devoured half of his meal. Although, this was also because Kageyama was still taking somewhat nervous glances around the vibrant pink and green colored restaurant, crammed with tables tucked so close together that Kageyama's knee kept bumping against Hinata. It annoyed Tobio to no end, but Hinata didn't even seem to notice.  
"Egh yolhk?" Hinata asked, mouth full of noodles.

"Yeah sure," Kageyama replied, trading his egg white for Hinata's yolk before finally beginning to eat. As soon as he did he began piling noodles into his mouth with as much fervor as he had just thought to criticize Hinata for. This was the best bowl of ramen noodles he had ever had. 

"Hinata!" someone shouted from the doorway. Hinata's head perked up, his eyes shining. Kageyama looked too and saw a pair of boys waving from the doorway, one dark spikey hair and a firm smirk, and the other with dusty brown hair and a smile that took up most of his face. They looked familiar, but Kageyama couldn't quite remember.

"Izumi! Kouji!" Hinata shouted back, gesturing for them to come over. More knees pressed against Kageyama's as they sat down on either side of him.

"How have you been Shou? We haven't seen you for ages," the dusty haired one asked.

"I've been great Izumi! Busy with volleyball, but really really great," Hinata said, grinning, "Oh, and this is Kageyama, the one that was really mean last year, remember?"

"Ohhhh, yeah, nice to see you again King," the Kouji added. Kageyama's hands gripped his chopsticks until his knuckles turned white.

"Uh, he's actually not much of a king now..." Hinata told them, glancing at Kageyama with a grin, "He's not so bad anymore. He's on my team so..."

"On your team?" Kouji asked, raising an eyebrow, "So are you two, like, boyfriends or whatever?"

"No!" Kageyama shouted, too loud for public settings. Shouyo stared at him, eyes scrunched, until he finally burst into laughter, also too loud. He bounced as he laughed, vibrating the way he did before Kageyama tossed to him. When he slapped his hand on the table, broth shot into the air, splattering his friends. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Hinata said, still snickering, "But it's like, why would I ever date him? I've got my eyes on someone much better."

"Better?" Kageyama mumbled.

"Ooo, tell us about him."Izumi asked, setting his head in his hands and batting his eyes at Hinata. Shouyo grinned.

"Well, he's soooo tall, right? He's like two of me. And he's the ace! His name is Asahi and he's got this long hair, down to his shoulders but he usually wears it in a bun and it's soooo cute. Plus when he's feel kind of awkward he scratches his neck and his arms are like the size of my head. He's just so sweet and kind but he looks really tough so it's just soooo cute."

"Not that cute."

"Does he like you back?" Kouji asked.

"Oh... Not yet!" Hinata said, forcing a smile, "He's a third year so he already has other friends and everything. Once he gets to know me better though, I'm sure he'll fall for me. Who wouldn't?"

"I didn't." Izumi answered.

"Ok but that's different because you knew me when I was an annoying shrimpy middle schooler."

"As opposed to now?" Kageyama asked, "When you're an annoying shrimpy high schooler?"

"No! Now I'm a cool shrimpy high schooler! I'm 'The Strongest Decoy'. And I'm invincible. Also he said I help him play better so clearly I have a chance."

"If you say so."

It was strange, eating with Hinata's old friends. Sometimes it would only take a single word for them all to erupt in chaotic laughter, leaving Kageyama to stare and wonder what he had missed. It was worse than trying to keep up with Tanaka and Noya's shenanigans. However, every once in a while Hinata would look over at Kageyama's confused expression and smile, trying to explain what was so funny. He told big stories, gesturing his chopsticks around so much that Kageyama was amazed that they didn't fly out of his hand. Kageyama was amazed at how animated Hinata could be, how captivating. Hinata told stories better than anyone else he knew. 

***

"You went on a date with Kageyama?" Yamaguchi asked. He had called Hinata needing his opinion on his line up for his Tsukishima themed playlist, but the conversation had quickly become hijacked by the decoy.

"No dumbo. We went to get lunch together. Because we're friends."

"So you're friends now? That's only one word off from boyfriend."

"Oh my gosh stop. I like Asahi because he's dreamy and not a grumpy blueberry."

"Ok but you also just spent ten minutes describing that grumpy blueberry's outfit from today."

"Well I really liked that cool shirt he was wearing! And who doesn't love a good olive green utilitarian jacket? They're the best."

"Fine, fine, if you say so."

"I do say so. I also say to take Love Hime off of your playlist."

***

"So did you have fun with your friend?" Kageyama's mom asked as he came through the door. She was doing the dishes, her "I love volleyball" apron damp with where the sink sprayed her. 

"Yeah I guess... Some of Hinata's friends showed up and ate with us which was... kind of weird, I don't know," Kageyama said, plopping down onto the sofa.

"So not exactly the bonding moment you were waiting for?"

"I mean... I guess I learned more about him that way. Apparently he has a ridiculous fascination with Korean girl groups and exclusively uses blue mechanical pencils. It wasn't what I was expecting... but it could have been worse."

"Well I'm glad you had fun," she said, smiling, "I'm glad you've been making friends. It seems like this new volleyball team is doing you good."

"Yeah. It is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIME HIME


	8. glad to have not been tsukki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting to write this chapter the whole time oh my gosh. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Hinata hated how weekends always seemed to disappear so quickly. He would take one nap and then POOF! There was his Monday morning alarm shouting at him to get up and go to practice. Why did they have practice before school anyway? Ennoshita and Yamaguchi were the only ones that were awake enough to understand Daichi's directions. Tanaka and Nishinoya just whined the entire time, and Tsukki would always yell at them, and Suga would glare at Tsukishima for being so loud. It was a never ending cycle of pain that kept anyone from actually getting any practice in.

Still, Hinata had to go. He biked as hard as he could, but it was a Monday, so Kageyama beat him to the school. Kageyama always won on Mondays.

"Me again, Loser," Kageyama said, grinning. 

"You're the loser!" Hinata retorted, "You're so super competitive, it's soooo lame."

"I'm way less competitive than you are!"

"I am totally less competitive!"

"You're both monstrously competitive," Daichi said, walking up to unlock the club room. Suga trailed behind him, rubbing his eyes, more asleep than awake at this point. Daichi kept glancing back behind him, as if checking to make sure Suga hadn't fallen over from sleep deprivation.

They changed quickly and went to work warming up--waking up really-and it seemed like a normal Monday morning. That is, until Yamaguchi arrived without Tsukishima by his side. Tanaka, who usually arrived the latest, was even there before Tsukki showed up. When he did finally get there, it was pretty clear why he was so late.

"Waaaa Tsukki! What happened to your eye?" Hinata asked, pointing to where Tsukishima's eye bulged purple and green. Everyone turned to stare, save Yamaguchi who stayed focus on his serve. 

Tsukishima grumbled about it being no big deal before starting his stretches. Had it been afternoon practice, people would have shouted about killing anyone who laid a finger on any of their teammates, but at the moment they were all too tired to care. Daichi had a word with him, speaking in hushed tones that Hinata couldn't make out, but whatever explanation Tsukki gave to him seemed to appease the captain.

***

Hinata only began to worry at lunch time, when Tsukishima was no where to be found.

"Did Tsukishima go home?" Hinata asked, munching on his rice ball.

"No," Yamaguchi replied, a bit of edge to his voice.

"Oh... Is he skipping lunch?"

"No."

"In the bathroom?"

"Tsukishima isn't eating with us today Hinata," Yamaguchi replied, direct enough that Hinata knew better than to ask anymore questions. Kageyama was not so bright.

"Why?" he asked.

"We got in a fight! Ok! Is that what you needed to hear?" Yamaguchi all but shouted. 

Hinata couldn't believe it. The dynamic duo, best friends, almost lovers, could actually argue? They seemed to always know what the other was thinking. They understood each other. Arguments between such close friends seemed impossible. Unless...

"Was it about you putting Love Hime on the playlist?" Hinata asked. It made perfect sense to Hinata. The crack in their relationship could only be Yamaguchi seeing Tsukki as a princess. Other then that, their relationship must have been impermeable.

"No," Yamaguchi replied, covering his face with his hands, "It was unrelated to anything musical."

"Ah come on, you can tell me and Bakayama what happened. We're really good at keeping secrets!" Hinata said, attempting to pressure the story out of Yamaguchi with his winning smile.

"It's... Well it's none of your business. And it's embarrassing," Yamaguchi replied, picking at his rice with his chopsticks.

"Well Kageyama's wallet has a flower print! He's embarrassing too so just tell us."

"Hey! Um... Hinata sleeps with a volleyball night light!"

"Kageyama's phone background is a picture of a volleyball! It's dumb."

"Yours is a picture of one of those gay swimmers! That's more embarrassing."

"First of all, Rei is demisexual biroma-"

"Oh my gosh will you two just shut up if I tell you?" Yamaguchi asked, finally getting annoyed with the bickering duo.

"Yes!" Hinata answered, pantomiming zipping his lips and reaching over to do the same to Kageyama.

"Fine... all right... Well Tsukki has been trying to get used to wearing contacts, because wearing those big clunky sports glasses during matches is just a pain. He's been wearing his contacts at home, but the other day he couldn't get them out of his eye because it's kind of hard to get used to poking yourself in the eye. So I was helping, right? That's what good friends do. So I'm sitting up on the counter, right, and he's holding his eye open while I try to pull that stupid contact out of his eye and it's really horrible but after like ten minutes I finally manage to get it out and we're like shouting because it's so exciting and we can't believe it. But stupid Tsukki decided to celebrate too much and he... he freaking kissed me!"

"WHAT!?"

"He kissed me! And so then... well I kind of had to shove him off of me... and I was really mad. And so I punched him and that's why he has the black eye... and we haven't talked since."

"You gave Tsukishima a black eye?" Kageyama said, impressed.

"He kissed you?" Hinata kept repeating, stunned.

"Yeah," Yamaguchi replied, laughing slightly as he mussed his hair, "It's kind of funny actually, since Tsukki is the one who taught me how to punch people... Well more his brother, but still."

"...I don't see why you got so mad," Kageyama said as Hinata continued to repeat himself, "I mean, even if you don't like Tsukishima, you don't have to punch him for having feelings for you."

"Dumbass Bakayama!" Hinata said, finally breaking out of his trance, "That's not why he punched him! You can't just go around kissing people. That's like... sexual assault or something. And it's not nice. You have to tell them you like them first! Or that you don't like them and just want to kiss him. Communication is key Bakayama!"

"So you're telling me," Kageyama began, "That if Asahi came up to you after practice and kissed you, you wouldn't return the kiss or anything?"

"Welllll... I'm not always a good role model. I'd totally kiss him back so I could prove to him that I'm an awesome kisser. Then when we have the huge post-kiss 'how dare you, do you even want to date me?' talk, he'll say yes even if he hadn't wanted to before, because my kissing skills are so totally awesome. However! Asahi would never do that. He's going to ask me to a fancy restaurant for a nice dinner date and he's going to wear a turquoise button up shirt and khakis. He'll pick me up on his motorcycle and bring flowers for my mom! And Natsu will love him. I bet he's really good with kids. Oh and--"

"You talk too much," Kageyama interrupted, stealing some melon from Hinata's lunch.

"Yeah well you're stupid and don't know anything about relationships so I have to teach you!"

"Uh... I don't know if either of us are qualified to teach anyone about relationships Hinata," Yamaguchi piped in.

"Sure we do! First lesson! 'Kissing!' taught by Professor Yamaguchi! So what was your kiss with Tsukki like?"

"Hinata," Yamaguchi groaned, not wanting to answer such a personal question. However, there were few immune to Hinata's puppy eyes. "Short, I guess. And kind of... wet? I dont't know. His eyes had been watering so his lips were kind of covered in tears and contact solution. It wasn't gross or anything, it just wasn't pleasant either."

"I bet Asahi's lips taste like lemongrass!" Hinata added. 

"Do you have to make everything about Asahi?" Kageyama asked, glaring the way he did only for Hinata.

"Yes."

***

from Dumbass 6:16  
im so jealous that yamaguchi got to kiss his crush. hes sooooooo lucky.

to Dumbass 6:19  
But Tsukishima is super gross??? And he said it was a bad kiss????? And you said it was sexual assault!???!?!?!?!??! that's not something to be jealous of dumbass weirdo!

from Dumbass 6:36  
yeah but theyll talk about it and forgive each other and then theyll start dating and ill be the only gay single in our area u kno?

to Dumbass 6:37  
So Asahi is not a gay single?

from Dumbass 6:43  
TRUUUUUU. probably. idk. im just guessing. tbh u could be the only hetero on the team.

to Dumbass 6:56  
yeah maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic is offically over 10,000 words! It's no longer a "Yeah I'm totally going to read this in one sitting fic!" and more of a "Ehhh if I read it at dinner and then before bed when I can't sleep I'll probably catch up" fic, so that's exciting! Part of me feels like I only have a few chapters left, but part of me thinks there's so much more to write! I could write three more chapters or twenty, who knows? 
> 
> Also, special thanks to Fuseaction for leaving long long comments that made me want to write a new chapter even though I should really be writing a chapter for my other fic............
> 
> Also also, if you think I'm a cute person and want to check out my tumblr, my url is sad-olive-girl


	9. glad to have magic fingers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long to post! summer is my busiest time of year. no rest for me.  
> extra special thanks to fuseaction, aka melonfucker4 on tumblr, for helping me figure out what to do with this chapter.

Hinata chewed on the end of his pencil, reading over the homework question for the fourth time. He had made his way to Kageyama's after practice, hoping that he may be able to get some actual work done without Natsu there to distract him, but it was no use. Natsu may make him color pictures with her, or watch her favorite anime, but Hinata couldn't even read with Kageyama in the room. He drank his milk too loud, was constantly flipping pages, and every 20 seconds he rubbed at his neck, sometimes even grumbling curses about how much it hurt.  
"Kageyammma, what's angle side angle mean?" Hinata whined.

"I don't know," Kageyama replied, laying his head against the desk, "Something about triangles."

"Literally everything is about triangles Bakayama, don't be so st--"

"Will you give me a neck massage?" Kageyama asked, rolling his neck as he sat up. Hinata's mouth fell open slightly, his pencil dropping to the desk. Had he heard him correctly? Friends didn't give friends massages--or at least Hinata's friends never had. Especially not bedroom massages.

"Uh... you do realize i was only talking about that the other day because I was trying to flirt with Asahi, right? I mean, I know I'm no Mr. Smooth like Kuroo, but I thought you said I was pretty obvious when I was flirting."

"I know!" said Kageyama clenching his fists, "It just hurts; it's so annoying. I can't focus on anything."

Kageyama had no particular skills of persuasion. The puppy eyes he was trying to make ended up looking more like he had gas than anything else. His lower lip was sticking out from his mouth, perhaps to add to the pleading effect, but he overdid it, his top lip being buried under the slobber from the lower.

However, Hinata figured that he wasn't exaggerating about his pain. Suga had been sick that day and Kageyama had tried his best to fill the gaps left by the other setter. Plus he had had a test in English so his neck had been bent and strained that entire period. If Hinata wanted to keep spiking his best, he'd have to keep his setter in top condition.

"...Fine. I'll give you a massage."

"Really?" Kageyama asked, sounding almost excited.

"Yeah... but you're not allowed to talk about it ever and also you have to let me copy your math homework. Oh! And you have to put my hair up for practice for the next wee-month! The next month. Got it?"

"Got it," Kageyama replied, turning in his chair so his back was to Hinata. 

When Hinata had said he had magic fingers, he hadn't been lying. His mom used to come home from work with cricks in her neck; Shouyo wasn't able to see her in pain. He'd massage her neck for a while, paint her nails for her, and he'd even help her cook if it wasn't something too difficult. After years of this routine Hinata had become pretty skilled, able to knead out tense muscles with ease. His tongue was clenched between his teeth as he stood behind Kageyama, focused on his task. The sooner he got this done the sooner he could make Kageyama work on their assignment.

Kageyama's knuckles turned white as he pressed them into his knees. A hiss escaped his lips as Hinata dug into the tight muscle just above his shoulder blade. His masseuse was used to such reactions; the first part of a massage was always the most painful.

However, he was not prepared for the low hum that fell through Kageyama's lips as he began to feel his muscles soften underneath his finger tips. Hinata could just make out that Kageyama's eyes had drooped shut from his reflection in the window. While Kageyama's pouty face from before had erred on the side of embarrassing, his expression now seemed almost sensual. He hoped to see Asahi like that one day.

"Is this all right?" Hinata mumbled, his fingers dancing back up to the base of Kageyama's neck.

"A little higher..."

Hinata gulped. Kageyama's voice had seemed like it had lowered two octaves, his tone now more sultry and chocolatey, rather than the inconsistent clatter he normally made.

He had to try out this technique on Asahi.

Another hum (or was it a moan?) escaped Kageyama's lips, and Hinata found his own neck craning around to look at the way Kageyama's eyes sat closed and how his mouth was barely parted. Damn.

Kageyama's eyelashes fluttered a moment, his opening a fraction to peer back at Hinata. Before Shouyo could jump away--pretend he hadn't been staring--Kageyama had captured his lips, melting them against his own. The tastes of milk and the cucumber chapstick that Tobio had borrowed from Ennoshita made their way to Hinata's lip. Kageyama had a hand in his hair, the other snaking it's way around his waist to pull him into his lap. Hinata's fingers, no longer occupied, immediately went to ball themselves into Kageyama's shirt, pressing closer agai--

"OH MY GOSH!" Hinata shouted, trying to shove himself away but only managing to tip the chair backwards, the pair falling backwards. Scrambling off of Kageyama, Hinata grabbed the hem of his own shirt, vigorously wiping it against his lip. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING BAKAYAMA?"

"I-I'm sorr--HEY WAIT A MINUTE!" Kageyama shouted, jumping up, his finger pointing into Hinata's chest, "You kissed me back dumbass!"

"So!?" Hinata shouted, grabbing his jacket and stuffing his arms through the sleeves, "You cant' just kiss people Bakayama! We've been over this! That's taking advantage."

"B-But you kissed me back. That means you liked kissing me! "

"This isn't about whether or not I kissed you back. Get some damn perspective King," Hinata said, slamming Kageyama's door shut as he left.

***

to Dumbass 6:45  
hey maybe we could get meatbuns after practice tomorrow.

to Dumbass 7:38  
listen you kissed me back so i just... i just went with it. i didnt think it'd be a big deal.

to Dumbass 7:47  
ok so maybe it was a big deal. ok. im sorry. text me back.

to Dumbass 9:01  
how can i fix this?

to Dumbass 9:32  
ok so u don't like me but just let me fix this, ok??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooooo.....  
> worth the wait? 
> 
> stay tuned for tsukki and kageyama being big babies together!


	10. glad to have a pep talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this while watching Gilmore Girls so if you see any rouge Lorelais, you know why. It was fun to write though! I love letting characters interact as friends when they're not really. Building broship is always great for me.

Kageyama stood on the edge of the court, chugging water and trying to ignore the pitiful glances being thrown his way by Suga and Asahi. Even Tanaka looked as if he was catching on to the cold atmosphere that was settling in among volleyballs and sneakers. Hinata hadn't so much as glanced in Kageyama's direction since the incident, and he was making his disdain clear. The worst part was the horrifying moment when Hinata stayed in Suga's line during spiking practiced, despite the fact that players were meant to switch lines after each turn. 

Or, it would have been. Kageyama figured that the lead forming in his stomach at Hinata's cold shoulder, but Daichi, as oblivious as ever, shouted at Shouyo to go back into Kageyama's line. Tobio's heart was thudding as Hinata jogged up to his spot, his lips stretched into a firm frown. His finger was shaking as he glanced behind his shoulder, sending a toss--perhaps not as quick as usual but just as precise--back to Hinata. 

Then there it was, the all too familiar sound of a volleyball bouncing against the glossy gym floor. Kageyama's head darted around, his eyes falling on Noya's open mouth, Tanaka's wide eyes, and Ennoshita's tounge clucking quietly against his teeth. 

"Sorry I missed," Hinata grumbled, making his way to Suga's line.

"You didn't even swing for it! You barely jum--" Daichi began, but was immediately silenced by a glare from his vice captain. 

That was Kageyama's snapping point. He knew he had wronged Hinata, even if he wasn't quite clear on the morals, but Hinata had gone so far.

"How dare you!" he shouted, throwing a volleyball down at the floor with all his strength, letting it bounce and lower, lower, sinking into a roll towards Ennoshita's feet.

"How dare I? What the hell Kageyama, this isn't about what I did--"

"Well it wasn't! But now it is. We're on the same side of the net, which means that right now, we've got to support each other! You can ignore me, I can bare that, but this... This breaks me!"

Kageyama tore out off the court, grabbing his bag and heading out to the club room. He couldn't stand this. How could his mistake be bad enough to make Hinata turn on him this much? It felt like they were as estranged as they were in middle school.

Or worse, really. When some random kid from an opposing team says harsh things about destroying him on the court, but when the one person he had deemed safe to be friends with turned his back on him it felt more like a weight pressed against his chest rather than the bee sting of a fierce rival. He had gone to Hinata's house, slept on his couch, put his hair up and listened to him yammer on and on about Asahi.

The kiss was still a mystery to him. He didn't know why he did it or whether he'd ever want to do it again. The only thing that was important to him at this point was that Hinata, his best friend Hinata, was angry at him and more than anything he needed that to stop. As hurt as he was about Shouyo's actions, all he wanted was that lead out of his heart, the tightness out of his chest. 

The door to the club room opened with a clatter as it swung and hit against the wall, the light shooting in from the door.

"You coming back or are you going home for the day?" came the steady voice of Tsukishima.

"Home," Kageyama mumbled, pulling his uniform over his head and replacing it with a loose cream cactus print tshirt.

"...Yamaguchi isn't talking to me yet either," the blonde answered, sitting on the floor with his back against the wall and his legs outstretched.

"You say yet, but you don't know that it's going to happen..." Kageyama replied, his voice slow, careful. 

"No it will. The only way you won't end up making up with a person is if you weren't really friends to begin with."

"Right... well I'm not sure about me and Hinata."

The silence lingered, sticking to Kageyama's skin. It made him sick. If Hinata was mad at him, what did he have? An over-sized bitchy blonde? With Kei as his company, Tobio felt even more alone. It should have at least been Suga, or he might have settled for Ennoshita, but this was torture.

"What'd you do?" Tsukishima asked, lifting his glasses up to rub at his eyes. He seemed just as pained by this exchange as Kageyama was.

"I kissed him." was his quiet response.

"No I'm serious, what did you do?"

"I told you," Tobio answered, his voice steadier, "I kissed him. He was giving me a massage because my muscles were sore from practice and I... I got caught up in it... It felt like fishing wire was tugging me closer to him, and then I kissed him."

It started as a snicker, but before Kageyama was able to register it, Tsukishima had erupted into a loud bellowing laugh. His shoulders were shaking, his palms reaching to cover his face, and his mouth turned into an actual smile. 

"You're such an idiot," Tsukishima said, still breathing out chuckles.

"I am not!"

"You are! I literally just made that same mistake the week before and then you go and do it. How dumb do you have to be?"

"I... I didn't know he didn't want to. I didn't know that I wanted to. It's not like I was aware that I'd ever want to kiss that little annoying cute energetic obnoxious--"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Tsukishima interrupted, finally managing to settle his giggles.

There was a silence again as Kageyama finished changing, stuffing his things into his bag and starting to head for the door. Tsukishima stood up too, following Kageyama not just out of the club room, but down the street, just a step behind him.

"What are you doing?"

"Walking you home. ...It was Sugawara's orders to make sure you either came back or got home without getting so angry at your life choices."

"Right..."

Their steps fell into sync, Kageyama's hand gripping at the straps of his book bag. Tsukishima's were settled into his pocket, his eyebrows creased together in thought rather than any sort of anger.

"...At least Hinata didn't give you a black eye," he finally offered.

"True. ...He kissed me back so I thought..."

"Really? Yamaguchi didn't waste a second before clobbering with me."

"You're serious?"

"Yeah. Hinata will forgive you in no time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how did you like it? I love tsukkikage frienships! 
> 
> so finally in the double digits of chapters! I feel like we've finally made it somehow... 
> 
> Tell me how you like it pleeeeaasseee.


	11. glad to have a mint

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I really didn't want to leave you guys with just that last chapter for too long. i really wasn't happy with how it was written. not only did i forget to finish like half the sentences (i'll have to go back and edit that sometime........), but i also thought it wasn't very.... fresh? it seemed too typical for my taste. AND IT WAS SAD. so then i said i'll give them something better! but then it didn't turn out happy... sorry.....
> 
> Trigger Warning: anxiety attack. if you want to skip it, it starts at ""So... um... I was wondering if" and the major parts end at "Here, try this," but if you want to be extra careful you might not want to pick up reading until "Drink some of your water"

They took a break after Kageyama left, Sugawara immediately pulling Tsukishima over and sending him out of the gym. The team seemed split, some unable to keep their glaring, confused eyes off of Hinata, the others looking anywhere but the orange haired spiker. Hinata just chugged his water, his mind only able to focus on the anger that settled in his lungs.

Practiced continued, but with most of the team whispering about the split of the invincible duo rather than focusing on the drills, Daichi had to resolve to end practice early. No one seemed to mind, especially Tanaka who was shouting about going back to Noya's to watch a movie. 

Hinata collected his things slowly, not wanting to go home, certain that his thoughts would swallow him whole once he didn't have volleyball to distract him. As he walked out of the club room, however, there was a small tug on his shoulder. Even when he turned and saw that it was Asahi who had claimed his attention, he still couldn't bring a smile to his face.

"Hey, um, since we ended practice early I was thinking maybe you and I could get dinner?" Asahi asked, his mouth turned up in a deliberate smile.

"Sure," replied Hinata simply. His mind was screaming, but it was all incoherent. He had never felt this many things at one time.

"Great! I know this american place that's pretty good. I would love some french fries right now," he answered, heading out the door, "You know that's kind of funny, that they have french fries at an American food place." Asahi laughed, his hand moving to pull his hair of it's bun. It was beautiful, falling down onto his shoulders and pulling Hinata out of his distress. Even when everything seemed to be tearing apart, Asahi's hair was still perfect, and that was enough to clear the chaos out of Hinata's mind. 

"Yeah," he said, managing a laugh of his own, "That is funny."

Hinata had to power walk to keep up with Asahi's long strides. By the time they got to the restaurant he was almost out of breath, a combination of his exertion and the anxiety that he had been ignoring. 

"You all right?" Asahi asked, sliding into the booth.

"Mmmhm," Hinata replied with a nod as he glanced across the menu. He'd have to go here with Yamaguchi sometime.

"So... um... I was wondering if... if you had anything you'd like to talk about?" Asahi folded his hands on top of the table, his attention focused on Hinata. Normally he would love having Asahi so fixated on him, so willing to help him, but now he just felt guilty. He tugged on the collar of his shirt, his arms crossing and pulling at the fabric around his shoulders. It was as if he was covered with holes, his being escaping through the cracks as the great wind of Asahi's intense glare blew through him. Even his breath seemed to be escaping him, stuffing itself into his throat. 

He could feel the tears running down his cheeks. Oh no, he was crying in front of Asahi. This was the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to him, yet that thought only managed to help him produce more tears as he gulped for air.

"Here, try this," Asahi said, taking Hinata's hand and pressing a mint into it, "They usually help me."

He removed the plastic rapper, popping it into his mouth diligently. The cold taste gave him something to focus on while his breathing regulated itself.

"Thanks," Shouyo mumbled once he was able to speak. He rested his hands on his knees so that he could ignore the shaky feeling in his fingers.

"No problem, you just take a minute to breath, all right? No rush," Asahi replied, calling the waitress over and asking for two waters and the largest plate of french fries she could bring. He pulled out his phone, opening it to a breathing app and setting it in front of Hinata. It wasn't until the fries were placed in front of him that he felt like his breath was under his control. 

"Drink some of your water too," Asahi encouraged as Hinata handed him back his phone.

"All right," he said, following the instruction.

"...So I came here with Nishinoya once before, but he didn't like it. He said the fries weren't all that great because they're fat fries and he likes skinny fries, but fat fries are so much better, in my opinion at least. You don't have to eat so many at once--"

"Are you trying to distract me?"

"No... not really," he replied, tucking his hair behind his ear, "I just thought you might not like to talk for a bit. I usually can't find my words very well when something like that happens."

"I... I'd like to talk," Hinata said, "I'm scared that if I don't then it'll happen again."

"That makes sense," Asahi reassured.

Shouyo took a deep breath before he began, making sure that the air couldn't escape him this time. "I'm angry at Kageyama. He knows I'm angry at him and he's trying to apologize but he's not apologizing for the right things, but I don't know how to let him know that because I'm so angry."

"What does he think you're angry about?" asked Asahi gently.

"He, um, he kissed me," Hinata said, his ears turning red. He wished he was talking to Yamaguchi, then this wouldn't be so embarrassing. It was taking all he had not to crawl under the table.

"And that made you angry?" Asahi asked, his voice calm but his eyes wide with surprise.

"Yes. He didn't ask my permission to kiss me. I didn't even know he liked... And he still doesn't quite get that that was wrong since I accidentally kissed him back for a moment. It's like he knows in his head that it was wrong for him to kiss me, but I don't think he actually feels guilty. It's like he just wants me to stop being mad at him."

"So you're actually angry with him because he fails to truly recognize his mistake?"

"I... that's part of it," Hinata said quietly, tapping his fingers against his glass, "I'm sort of angry at myself, since I did kiss him back. I... for a moment I enjoyed kissing him, so I'm angry because I don't know if he even likes me. I don't know what his intentions are or if he just thinks I'm easy since I'm bi and some people think that bi means easy and I don't want him to be the type of person that thinks that, but... Well I don't have any reason to not think that he thinks that."

"He knew that you were bisexual though?" Asahi asked, getting a nod in reply, "And how did he react when you told him?"

"He... he seemed surprised, but he was also... careful. He said he didn't want to assume anything."

"Then would he be the kind of person to think you would be open to kissing just because you're bisexual?"

"Maybe not... but he could be. And even if he wasn't I just... I still don't know if he ever intended to kiss me again after and that... that's rude, making someone like kissing you only to never kiss them again. Especially since... Well he knew I liked someone else and yet he kissed me anyway. And it's like... Since I kissed back I feel guilty towards the person I like. I... I don't think they like me back, but that doesn't stop me from feeling guilty. And I hate Kageyama for making me feel guilty!"

Asahi reached across the table, taking one of his hands. "What do you feel guilty for Hinata? Just for kissing someone else?"

"Yes... I mean... maybe something else," Hinata said, trying to ignore how his heart fluttered when Asahi took his hand. He knew it didn't mean anything romantic, but it was enough that he cared at all. "It's like... If I stopped liking that other person then that wouldn't be so bad. But it's like... I still like that person, and even though I hate Kageyama right now I like him too. And it's not fair that two people should share that I like them... if that makes sense."

"It does..." said Asahi, "I've, uh, well I've been having some problems in that area too since the person I love is attracted to two people. Or even just with me, I've got this person I really love, but there are other people I'm attracted to sometimes, but... I think that love is a choice. I may like a lot of people, but I chose this one person to invest in because I think that they'll challenge me, and that I can maybe challenge them too. I get that you're angry at Kageyama because he made things more confusing for you, but confusing like that isn't always bad."

There was a lag in the conversation, Hinata using the silence to mull over what Asahi had said. He could feel his heart breaking as he stuffed himself with french fries, not wanting Asahi to already love someone. In his mind he thought that that should make things easier for him, but it still hurt in his chest. He wanted Asahi to always sit before him like this, taking care of him and listening to him, yet now that felt so far away.

"...I don't want to apologize to Kageyama. And I don't want to even like him yet."

"That's ok," said Asahi as he chomped down on his french fry, "But maybe you could listen to him if he apologizes again? Or maybe you could even just sit near him... I know that sounds silly, but it might be nice to give him some sign, no matter how small, that you two could be able to work this out eventually."

"I can do that..."

"Good. I'm proud of you Hinata," Asahi said, smiling.

"I... Thank you for listening."

"Anytime."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the other reason I really wanted to write this chapter was so that you wouldn't be so mad at Hinata. He's feeling too many things for his smol body! Hopefully it's easier to empathize with him now (though he was still a total dick.)
> 
> I hoped you like the chapter sine it turned out so long and a bit intense? Next time you'll get more moments with the bakayama and dumbass together. Probably.
> 
> please comment and tell me if you liked it! also feel free to send me lots of asks about it on tumblr @ sad-olive-girl


	12. glad to have an egg yolk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long since I've updated! I'm so sorry. I've been kind of confused about what I wanted to do with this fic and now I'm giving you a chapter that's 98% dialogue so feel free to boo me into next week.

It had only been a week. A week of forcing himself out of bed. A week of walking home alone, since Yamaguchi and him lived in opposite directions. A week of avoiding Kageyama, of forcing himself to try to do the quick as normal, a week of noticing every single time Asahi smiled at Nishinoya. He actually reveled in going to class and letting the lectures distract him from trying to work out what was going on in his life. His nights were spent coloring with Natsu and trying to convince his mom that he was feeling fine, but he knew she didn't believe him. She kept looking at him in that way that he knew meant "You're not telling me something and it makes me sad that you don't trust me." His mom's technique was always to guilt information out of him. This time, however, he was able to keep quiet. At least for the week. 

"Hey," Yamaguchi said at lunch on Friday, "I... I'm going to forgive Tsukishima."

"Oh..." Hinata responded, feeling strangely betrayed, "Why?"

"Well... He's been my friend for a long time. And he's apologized. He actually... he still texts me every night, like he would if we weren't fighting. It's kind of cute."

"Ooo! Let me read them!"

"No, they're mushy and embarrassing!"

"All the more reason to let me read them," Hinata responded with a grin, "It's the perfect revenge, isn't it?"

"No because then when I send him mushy messages he'll just show them to Kageyama to get revenge on _me_."

"Oh... Right... So then when you forgive him, you're going to...be boyfriends?"

"I mean, probably," Yamaguchi responded, eyes lingering on his lunch, "I've liked him for a really long time. And he likes me. And he may have been stupid, but it's not the kind of stupid that's important enough to make me not like him anymore. Tsukki was just trying to love me; he just did it in the wrong way. So... he needed to realize that what he did was wrong and it hurt my feelings that he would take advantage of me like that and not think he had to actually tell me he liked me first, but... he did. And when I forgive him, it'll be in the past, and then... Then if I can get a proper confession out of him, I'd really like to date him."

"And what if he doesn't? Confess, I mean."

"Then we'll still be friends, and I can be happy with just that."

"But... doesn't it make it worse? If he kissed you and didn't like you?"

"I mean... it might feel worse, but he's sorry either way, isn't he?"

"I guess..."

***

Hinata took his time changing after practice. He didn't want to be around when Yamaguchi pulled Tsukishima away to walk home together. They'd be happy, and maybe hold hand, and it would make him sick in the same way that seeing Asahi and Nishinoya together did.

"You too?" Tanaka mumbled when Noya and Asahi headed out together.

"Yeah," Hinata whispered in reply.

"It's... it's not so hard... After a while I mean," Tanaka answered, "Just hang in there. And try not to be alone so much. It's easier when you've got friends next to you."

"Right... Thanks Tanaka."

Tanaka and Ennoshita headed out while Hinata was trying to make his shoelaces perfectly even, leaving him alone in the club room with Kageyama.

"...I can listen. Just while I tie my shoes I mean. I won't be all listening, but if you have something you want to say, I might hear it..." Hinata said, still messing with his shoes.

"...Really?" 

"Get on with it," was Hinata's reply.

Hinata could see Kageyama's feet pacing across the floor. He heard him take a breath, like he was about to talk, but his feet stopped and nothing came out. It happened again, and again, until finally Kageyama seemed to have found the words.

"I'm sorry."

"That's it?" Hinata asked, finally looking up at him, arms crossed over his chest.

"I... I've never done this before!" Kageyama admitted, looking both frustrated and embarrassed, "Not genuinely at least. I... I don't know what I'm supposed to say."

"What are you sorry for Kageyama?"

"I'm sorry that... That I kissed you and you didn't want to? Or... That I kissed you and didn't ask you?"

"Kageyama, that's just what you think you're supposed to say," Hinata said with a sigh, "Just... just tell me what you actually feel, all right? It's not like things could get any worse, right?"

"Oh... well... I feel sad that I don't eat lunch with you anymore. And I feel sad that we don't play as well together anymore. And I feel sad that you keep frowning at Nishinoya and Asahi and that I can't do anything to make you feel better. So... so I regret kissing you since it made you feel like you can't be around me without feeling sad. It must have hurt you that I did that, and I don't want to hurt you. Not like that at least. I like teasing you and making you shout at me, but only when it's just for fun, you know?"

"...Do you like me Kageyama?"

"...I don't know. I mean, I liked kissing you, and more for the you part than the kissing part. So i think so."

"Ok... Thank you for telling me how you feel," Hinata said carefully, "Maybe you could eat lunch with us on Monday."

***

Kageyama didn't know if he was forgiven. He didn't know if Hinata had understood what he said, or if it had even made any sense. It didn't help that Tsukishima had just texted him the good news about how Yamaguchi had forgiven him. Tsukishima had hooked on a "and I have to figure out a good way to confess now," onto the end of the message that made Kageyama squirm. They were going to date, and Hinata and him may still be estranged, and then he would have no one. 

Was he supposed to have confessed properly? He supposed that it wasn't good manners to tell someone that you like them during an apology, but Hinata had asked and he had had to answer. What if Hinata made him do it again later? Was it ok to confess without giving them chocolates or something dumb like that? He wanted to bury himself in the sand volleyball court at the park down the street, but he mostly just wanted to go to bed. His nerves were keeping him up, tossing and turning as he tried to figure out what was going on in Hinata's head. 

to Dumbass 1:41  
sorry to bother you, just wanted to say goodnight...

from Dumbass 1:43  
night Kageyama. see u monday. it'll be nice since i've had no one to eat the egg yolk for me all week.

Kageyama grinned. Hinata had missed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there we go! It looks like things are starting to get better for these baby crows... hopefully it's just some fluff from here on out, right? Only happy moments left... at least I hope so. You never know, I read Crapso fics so I might just throw in some last minute angst for the heckies, right?   
> (dont let me do that that'd be terrible I just want everyone to be happy.)


	13. glad to have one punch man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its been so long! I'm currently trying to write a chapter of all my fics by the end of may, and seeing as finals are about to hit, i'm glad i got to this one quickly. i hope you enjoy it.

Hinata's life didn't feel much better just because Kageyama was back in it. Things were still awkward betweeen them, maybe more so as he forced himself to pretend that nothing was wrong. If he had forgiven Kageyama, then that was that. End of story. He wouldn't allow himself to keep holding that against his friend, no matter how much he kept thinking about it. Instead, he focused his energy on all the things that kept him happy. The quick had improved. Yamaguchi was smiling more. He didn't have to eat the egg yolk anymore. Tanaka and him had even made a game out of who can more ridiculously interrupt Noya and Asahi's moments of impending PDA, making that situation almost bearable. Tanaka was currently winning with his cartwheel that sliced their hand holding apart.  
It was all still there though, and sometimes he couldn't ignore it. Sometimes Asahi would bend down and give Noya a kiss on the cheek when he did particularly good play, and Hinata's heart would clench in his chest. He felt worse, too, since he really wanted Asahi to be happy, and he really liked Nishinoya as well. Little crushes are persistent little things though, squeezing and taking and making everything seem a big grayer when they didn't work out.

"Are you feeling all right?" Kageyama asked him one day after practice. Tanaka had stayed home sick, leaving Hinata to deal with things on his own. Or, at least, that's how it seemed. He and Kageyama had been sticking to safe topics since their fight. Volleyball, class, anime--things that there was no way they could fight about.

"Yeah... I just... Do you want to come hang out for a bit?" Hinata asked, before he even knew he was saying it.

"Oh! Sure, of course," Kageyama answered, stuffing his clothes into his bag.

As they walked back to Hinata's house, they kept their conversation on the mundane. Hinata talked about how he was planning on starting One Punch Man since Yamaguchi recommended it. Kageyama nodded along to his ramblings about Yamaguchi analysis, and agreed that it sounded like a pretty good show.

That was how Hinata found himself curled up on his bed, facing his laptop, while Kageyama laid behind him, a hand draped over his waist. Hinata could barely pay attention to the show. Instead he was focusing on Kageyama hand, that would sometimes tense up and make him feel protected somehow. He was paying attention to where Kageyama's breath fell in his hair. He was thinking about how the hell he ended up as the little spoon.

It felt nice to lay like that. Hinata had never really gotten the chance to cuddle anyone but his pillow. When he lay in his bed trying to fall asleep he found himself thinking about an arm on his waist much more than sex, which he supposed wasn't supposed to be normal for a boy of his age. Hinata just wanted someone to be there for him. 

Asahi was that kind of person. He was always there for the team, he didn't mind all of Hinata's questions and energy, and when he helped with Hinata's anxiety... well that was the worst part. It made him fall more in love with him, even as he heard there was no chance of it.

"I think I'm using you Kageyama," Hinata mumbled as closing song began.

"...What?" Kageyama asked, sitting up slightly, but keeping his arm where it rested before.

"I'm... I'm using you, right? Because I still like Asahi, but I'm... well I'm making you do stuff that makes me feel less alone."

"You're an idiot." Kageyama's reply came out like an instinct.

"I'm serious Kageyama!" Hinata said in defense, "I'm acting like an asshole. I... You should just go home."

"I'm not going home Hinata, you're just being stupid."

"Kageyama--"

"Listen, we're friends again, right?" Kageyama asked. Hinata nodded. "So since we're friends, it's my job to help you to feel better when you're sad. If this makes you feel better, then I'm fine with it, since I'm your friend. I mean, I guess you can call it using someone, but it's just in the same way that I use you to get the quick perfect, you know? It doesn't have to be a bad thing."

"But you like me."

"...Yes. So? We're friends. And I'll be honest, I was going to use you later to get free ice cream by telling your mom that you're heart broken and iec cream is the only cure. So really, who's the one taking advantage?"

Hinata rolled his eyes, starting the next episode and shifting back closer to Kageyama. He supposed it was ok if Kageyama said it was. Normally Hinata didn't have to worry about feeling lonely. In middle school he had always kept Izumi and Kouji close to his side. His mom had been worried that starting at Karasuno would be hard for him, but he was always confident in his ability to make friends, and what with the team being so great he was able to latch on to all of them with ease. However, just in this last week or two he had felt that feeling of loneliness growing in the pit of his stomach. It was worse since he had never felt anything similar before--had never allowed himself to. He was always so intent on being around people that when they were no longer beside him he had no idea what to do.

Yet here Kageyama was, making him feel a little less sad, no matter what it did for his own feelings. He had never seen Kageyama as the type of person who could always be there for you; he was too crass, self absorbed, and an idiot. This had to be effort for Kageyama, it had to be him thinking about what Hinata needed, instead of what he himself wanted. That was the sort of friend Hinata needed, and the sort of friend that he was happy to have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kageyama is a good egg he is growing and i love him.


End file.
